Renal cell carcinoma
see Brain metastases from renal cell carcinoma.
Spinal metastasis from renal cell carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) frequently metastasizes to the spine, and the prognosis can be quite variable.
Treatment
Surgical removal of the tumor with spinal reconstruction has been a mainstay of palliative treatment.
Prognosis
The ability to predict prognosis is valuable when determining the role and magnitude of surgical intervention in cancer patients.
Tatsui et al., identified several factors influencing survival after spine surgery for metastatic spinal RCC, including grade of the original nephrectomy specimen, activity of the systemic disease, and neurological status at the time of surgery. These clinical features may help to identify patients who may benefit from aggressive surgical intervention 1).
Spinal nerve root metastasis
Spinal nerve root metastasis of renal cell carcinoma is a rare occurrence. In addition to treatment of the primary lesion, surgical resection of the nerve root metastasis, occasionally with sacrifice of the involved nerve, is the accepted standard of treatment. Resection often resolves presenting motor and pain symptoms due to relief of neural compression.